Allwin Agnel

Director of Collateral

Allwin Agnel is a first year MBA student at the Wharton School. Prior to joining, he founded Neutral Web, a global web hosting company with clients in 18 nations, straight out of college. He also founded and led India's largest and most influential website for MBA aspirants - www.pagalguy.com. He now wants to explore new ventures in web 2.0, online communities, and effective monetization models. He was identified by CNBC as a 'Young Turk' and has spoken about his experiences as an entrepreneur at the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management.

Allwin received his Masters Degree in Commerce from the Mumbai University, while he ran two companies. In his free time he yearns to get back to the sky so that he can either jump off aircrafts or fly them.

Baris Aksoy

Venture Capital Panel

Baris has over eight years of experience in product marketing and product development in semiconductor and telecommunications industries. Baris joined Wharton from Calix Networks, where was a Product Manager, responsible for bringing IPTV products to the market and leading them through the entire life cycle. Prior to that, Baris started the West Coast sales office for Alcatel's semiconductor division. He also co-founded an e-commerce business and a non-profit organization in education. Baris is on the board of directors for TABCA, serving the Turkish American business community. Baris holds a BS in Electrical Engineering. Baris is also an avid windsurfer and golfer.

Raymond Aronoff

Collaborative Software Panel

Prior to Wharton, Raymond served as the CTO for Engineering at the Johnson Space Center at NASA. At NASA, he was instrumental in implementing manufacturing processes and technologies that substantially increased efficiencies and product quality. With a passion for optimizing the business environment, Raymond recognized the opportunity to further develop and integrate information systems that enabled both efficiencies and collaboration with other NASA centers, international partners and contractors. Raymond worked closely with software companies and developed software products for the engineering industry that streamlined the design through manufacturing process and enabled multi-location collaboration. Raymond serves on the Board of Customer Advisors for the nation's largest engineering software manufacturer and is currently leading a start-up initiative in this space.

Raymond received his Bachelor in Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with an Aerospace concentration from the University of Florida.

Ashish Chordia

Advisor

Ashish Chordia is a second year MBA student at The Wharton Business School. He has over eight years of experience in the software industry. Prior to Wharton, he was a Principal Engineer in the Server Technology Division at Oracle Corporation. Previously he worked at Oblix Inc., a Kleiner Perkins funded Silicon Valley start-up. He is passionate about technology and has strong interests in early stage venture capital and entrepreneurship. Ashish received his M.S. in Applied Statistic and Informatics from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Bombay.

Kiran Choudary

New Tech Startup Panel

Prior to Wharton, Kiran worked for Oracle for five years. As an engineering manager leading product efforts in the Internet communications space, he has led teams in the US, Russia and India. He helped build Oracle's first VoIP products and has participated in several strategic acquisitions in the communications space. Originally from India, Kiran holds engineering degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology and MIT.

Youngjin Doh

Consumer Electronics Panel

Prior to Wharton, Youngjin worked as a management consultant for five years in Accenture's Seoul office. His major clients included consumer electronic companies, retail/CPG companies and Internet businesses. In terms of scope, he had participated in overseas market entry projects (into emerging markets such as China), projects involving new business and product launches, and other corporate strategy assignments focused on increasing shareholder value. He also worked for Yahoo! at Sunnyvale, CA and The Boston Consulting Group at Seoul, Korea during the last summer.

Greg Friedman

Advisor

Greg is a 2nd year Wharton MBA majoring in Marketing & Operations (joint major) and Finance. Prior to Wharton, Greg worked in management consulting for Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGEY), a global IT services provider, and also started his own consulting firm, LiveWire Business Solutions, focusing on marketing and growth strategy for small businesses. Most recently, he worked with Deloitte in the Tax division, where he was responsible for helping build an internal business development team.

Having always been interested in technology, Greg decided to go back to Wharton for an MBA as a way to redirect his career. He has since taken every opportunity to surround himself with technology, working at both Current Communications and Zillow.com this past summer. He is most interested in marketing and business development in Internet, wireless, and other consumer-facing applications.

Outside of work and school, Greg loves skiing, backpacking, biking and hiking with his wife, Kate, and intends to head west after graduation.

Jennifer Hirsch

Content Director

Prior to attending Wharton, Jennifer spent four years working as an auditor and Sarbanes-Oxley consultant with KPMG LLP, focused on technology companies in the Bay Area, London, Hong Kong, Toronto, and Reno. Jenn developed a passion for technology and innovation while growing up in the middle of Silicon Valley, and received a B.A. in American Literature and Business Economics from UCLA in 2002. In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys running outdoors, swimming indoors, writing passable fiction, and watching UCLA beat USC.

Prabjot Jaaj

Telecommunications Panel

Prabjot Jaaj is a first year MBA student at The Wharton School. Prior to Wharton Prabjot spent eight years consulting for some of the largest telecom companies in North America. Most recently, as Engagement Manager at Patni Computer Systems, Prabjot managed the OSS/BSS infrastructure of one of the largest cable operators in Canada as his client went through an major acquisition and expanded their services to become a true Quadruple-play service provider.

Prior to Patni, Prabjot worked as a Senior Consultant at Plutus Enterprises where he led a team of consultants and successfully enhanced the 3G Customer Support operations of one of the largest wireless service providers in the US.

Prior to Plutus, Prabjot was a Senior Consultant at Nortel Networks where he developed network management solutions for Tier-1 telecom service provider. At Nortel he was also part of a specially selected team that successfully launched Nortel's first Business Process Automation service offering and created Nortel Network's first touch-less end-to-end DSL provisioning solution.

Prabjot holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering from McGill University and is a Project Management Institute (PMI) certified Project Manager (PMP).

Anna Jan

Marketing Manager

Anna is a first-year Wharton MBA candidate, double majoring in Strategic Management and Marketing. Previously, Anna was a Consultant with Ernst & Young’s Quantitative Economics & Statistics (QUEST) group in Washington D.C. for four years before serving two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mongolia, focusing on Small Business Development. Anna graduated with a dual degree, B.S. in Business Administration and B.A. in Germanic Studies, from Washington University in St. Louis. Anna’s technology interests are in new product design & development, innovation, and the application of technology for social impact.

Aydin Kadaster

New Tech Startup Panel

Prior to attending the MBA program at Wharton, Aydin spent four years working as a management consultant in New York and London with Marakon Associates. In his roles at Marakon, Aydin advised senior management of Fortune 200 companies in technology and other industries on their most important strategic issues and opportunities. Aydin received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Duke University in 2001. In addition to his interest in technology, business, and venture capital, Aydin enjoys conceptual design, rugby, and international travel.

Neel Ketkar

Digital Media Panel

Neel Ketkar is a first-year MBA student at The Wharton School. Prior to Wharton, Neel spent three years at the Los Angeles-based media and technology firm Gemstar-TV Guide International. Initially focusing on strategy and M&A, Neel later founded TV Guide's Mobile Entertainment division. In this role, he spearheaded the launch of the company's mobile interactive program guide, video content and mobile search product offerings. Prior to TV Guide, Neel spent three years in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the Investment Banking Division at Citigroup, primarily focusing on international cable industry clients. A member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Neel graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in Biology.

Chris King-Sidney

Sponsorship Manager

Chris is a first-year dual degree student at Wharton, pursuing an MBA and a Masters in International Affairs through the Lauder Institute. Prior to attending Wharton, Chris worked for InterChina Consulting for three years, providing strategic market-entry and expansion consulting services to foreign multinationals investing in China. Chris' passion for technology developed after witnessing the role and impact of technological developments had on China's growth.

Chris obtained his BA in Chinese and East Asian Studies from Georgetown University. Chris speaks eight languages, including Mandarin, Spanish, German, and Portuguese, and enjoys anything that involves sports and travel.

Elfreda Lau

Financial Services Panel

Elfreda Lau is from Toronto, Canada, where she worked in various strategy, operations and technology roles in the Financial Services industry for five years prior to coming to Wharton. Her most recent role was Director of Sales Support for the Direct Banking division of CIBC, one of Canada's top financial service institutions. She also worked as a Management Consultant at Bain & Company after completing her Bachelor of Applied Science degree (majoring in Industrial Engineering) at the University of Toronto.

Christine Lee

Media Manager

Christine Lee is a first year MBA candidate at Wharton, majoring in Marketing & Operations. Prior to Wharton she was a manager at a semiconductor startup in Silicon Valley, managing global marketing and public relations programs for the company's US, Shanghai and Taiwan operations. Her love for technology stemmed from growing up in the Bay Area and seeing how technology enabled so many different industries. Christine graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Business Administration. She is also an avid music lover and freelances for publications such as Audrey Magazine and the Metro newspapers in Silicon Valley.

Jesse Levey

Amateur Content Panel

Jesse Levey has a long history as an innovator and entrepreneur. As the founder and CEO of United Leaders, Levey led the path towards innovation in civic leadership. In 2000 he served as a youth coordinator for John McCain's President Campaign where he harnessed the power of the web meeting media by developing a creative strategy that enabled Senator McCain to reach millions. He was the producer and host of the #1 rated Tufts University television program, Jumbo Love Match, where he created new ways to use technology to build social interaction. Levey served as an Account Director for the Corporate Executive Board managing relationships with Fortune 200 members including Microsoft, Merrill Lynch, and Google.

Levey is the recipient of numerous awards including the San Francisco City Club Board of Governor's Leadership Award, USA Today All-USA College Academic Second Team, and even being named by the Improper Bostonian & Boston Magazine as one of Boston's most eligible bachelors. Levey graduated from Tufts University Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Political Science and Communications and Media Studies. He is currently pursuing an MBA at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Stella Loh

Social Impact Panel

Prior to attending the MBA program at Wharton, Stella spent five years in the IT and financial services industries. Most recently, she was a Senior Project Manager in the Internet Services Group at Wells Fargo & Company, where she was in charge of overseeing the implementation of all eBusiness services and applications for Wells Fargo's web site. Stella received her B.S. in Electrical Engineering Computer Science from UC Berkeley in 2001. In addition to her passion for technology, Stella enjoys traveling, movies, the Bay Area, and watching reality TV shows.

Zoran Martinovic

Venture Capital Panel

Prior to starting Wharton, Zoran was an Associate with Technology Crossover Ventures. Zoran's primary investment focus was in the Internet, wireless and financial services industries. At TCV, Zoran was involved with investments in Liquidnet, FXall, Global360 and eHarmony. Zoran also closely worked with two TCV portfolio companies, Motricity and Paciolan. Previously, Zoran was a Consultant at Mercer Management Consulting where he worked with Fortune 500 technology companies. Zoran received an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University.

Rajat Mishra

Amateur Content Panel

Rajat Mishra has led change successfully in traditional and non-traditional settings. At 24, he became the youngest manager in a division of 300 people at Microsoft proposing and building a $22m business for the company. As the youngest advisory board member for an "Adruta Children's Home" in Orissa (India), he has been responsible for creating partnerships that account for 100% of the organization's funding. While he has led 18-30 member cross-continental teams to build diagnostic software, he has also led his undergraduate college-team to "Pictionary" glory. One of the 500 National Talent Scholars, he has performed in professional theater, acted in television shows and been a part of state-championship winning debating, cricket and ping pong teams.

Rajat has 2 patents, 6 Poker tournaments and several academic awards to his credit. He graduated, Dean's List, with a B. Tech in Computer Science from IIT Delhi. He is currently pursuing an MBA at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Halsey Morris

Financial Services Panel

Halsey Morris is a first year student at Wharton, majoring in Finance. Prior to joining the Wharton MBA program, Halsey worked in investment management for five years. Most recently, he was a Technology Analyst for the Small and Mid Cap Growth Fund team at Blackrock Advisors, covering the semiconductor, networking equipment, and enterprise hardware and software industries. Halsey received his B.A from Dartmouth College and holds the CFA designation. In his spare time, Halsey enjoys hiking and telemark skiing.

Eleftheria Mourtzanou

Telecommunications Panel

Elia is a first year MBA student at The Wharton School. Prior to Wharton she worked as the DSL Network Deployment Manager at OTE, the National Telecommunications Company of Greece. At OTE she successfully doubled the company's DSL network infrastructure and optimized the company's project management procedures. Prior to OTE, Elia worked as a project manager to the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, where she led a team to secure interference-free wireless communications. She also has two years of experience in consulting, working as a market analyst and quality consultant. Elia holds a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, where she participated in an 18-month research project for the construction of a Nanosatellite. She is an avid alpine skier and enjoys sailing.

Ivan Oprencak

Co-Chair, Marketing

Ivan Oprencak is a second year MBA student at the Wharton Business School. He has nine years of experience in the technology industry. Prior to Wharton, he spent four years at Labcyte, a Silicon Valley startup, designing a novel ultrasound based instrument used in various stages of the drug discovery process. In 2004 this instrument was named "one of the 100 most technologically significant products" by the R&D Magazine. Previously, he held senior engineering positions at two enterprise software startups. Ivan is a cum laude graduate of Cornell University where received Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Chemistry.

Michael Pachos

Consumer Electronics Panel

Michael is currently a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to attending Wharton Michael was a lead architect and strategist for Intel's Enterprise Server Division. Prior to Intel Michael worked HP's prestigious Alpha Development Group. At Alpha Michael worked on two of the world's fastest super computers, EV7 and EV8. Michael is also the co-founder the network hardware company Global Velocity. Global Velocity provides a next generation content security solution allowing organizations to perform real-time reporting, analyzing and controlling of content in motion.

Komal Rathi

Social Impact Panel

Prior to joining the Wharton MBA program, Komal worked in Research and Development at various technology start-ups for seven years. Most recently, she was a Member of Technical Staff at Mistletoe Technologies, where she was the second employee. Komal received her M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California and her B.E. in Computer Technology from the University of Mumbai. In her spare time, Komal enjoys food, ceramics and traveling.

Mike Roszak

Marketing Manager

Mike is a first year student at the Wharton Business School, majoring in Marketing and Finance. Prior to joining Wharton, Mike spent working in research at the Corporate Executive Board in the Supply Chain and Operations practice, consulting Fortune 200 companies on how to select and utilize their supply chain, warehousing, and transportation technologies. Mike's current technology interests revolve around the commercial and data applications of RFID tags. He earned a Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 2001.

Maz Sharafi

Clean Technology Panel

Maz is a first year student at the Wharton Business School, majoring in Marketing and Strategic Management. At Wharton, Maz is very involved with several technology and leadership initiatives. He is currently an active member of both the Wharton Technology Club and Wharton Energy Club, and is organizing the inaugural annual Wharton case competition for a major technology company.

Prior to joining Wharton, Maz graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania, receiving an engineering degree, and worked for five years in various strategy, business development and finance roles. In his latest position, Maz served as an internal consultant as Senior Manager in the Strategic Planning Group at American Express. Maz also worked as an Associate in the Corporate Strategy and Business Development group at Citigroup. Prior to that, Maz was a financial analyst in the Telecommunications Investment Banking Group at Salomon Smith Barney (Citigroup).

Maz's interests outside of work and academics include: solar energy, internet technology, travel, alpine sports, and gourmet cooking.

Sanjeev Somani

Digital Media Panel

Sanjeev has 9 years experience in the e-business arena. He has worked with a variety of organizations, from IBM to an online travel start-up that he co-founded in London. During his career, Sanjeev has held a variety of leadership roles in business development, program management, and product management. He has consulted over 50 clients in India, U.K., and U.S.A., helping them devise and implement both B2B and B2C e-business strategies. Notable projects led include opodo.com (now a #4 pan-European online travel site) and India's first online payment gateway. Sanjeev is currently a first-year MBA student at The Wharton School, where he expects to major in Marketing and Finance. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, in 1996.

Punit Soni

Conference Co-Chair, Content

Punit Soni is a second year MBA student at The Wharton Business School majoring in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management. He is currently working part-time as an associate and Outreach Manager for Wharton Ventures, an $18M early stage venture capital fund, where he has evaluates venture opportunities in the Semiconductor, Wireless, and Mobile services sectors. Prior to Wharton, he has a diverse work experience having helped start an enterprise software startup and developed products for large companies like Cadence Design Systems. At Cadence, Punit was involved in managing multiple products and integrating post-acquisition startups into the company. Punit recently interned as an investment manager at Intel Capital (a $4B+ strategic venture capital group), where he closed a $8M deal in a broadband wireless company and created a valuation tool for mobile services deals. Punit plans to pursue a career in early-stage investing in the technology space in any location (Silicon Valley, Boston, India or elsewhere). Besides that, he also has entrepreneurial ambitions and intends to work towards business ventures of his own. Punit has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Electronics and Telecommunications engineering. He also has an active blog at http://futurevc.blogspot.com.

Lavanya Swetharanyan

Sales Manager

Lavanya is currently a first year MBA student at Wharton. Prior to attending Wharton Lavanya worked for Princeton Satellite Systems, a small business in Aerospace and Defense. She played the dual role of a program lead and business development manager. Prior to that, she worked with the Department of Defense as a research analyst focussing on signal processing computer architectures. Lavanya received her M.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park and her B.E. in Instrumentation and Controls from the Delhi Institute of Technology, India.

Avnish Tiwari

Clean Technology Panel

Avnish is Wharton MBA 1st year student majoring in Finance and Entrepreneurship. He intends to develop strategic framework for investment in non-commercial or early stage companies. Avnish received his B. Tech. from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 2001. After this, he joined Infosys technologies Ltd. as software engineer and consulted Goldman Sachs on technical implementation of profit and loss calculations of proprietary transactions. In 2003, He moved to Goldman's Tokyo office to assist firm-wide controllers in month-end PNL postings. In mid 2004, He accepted position with UBS in direct market access (DMA) team. As business analyst and developer, He took several initiatives in enhancing UBS's Asia Pacific electronic execution infrastructure to provide reliable, fast, and quality execution. Avnish's other interests includes reading about future technologies and social and political developments.

Mrinal Todi

Marketing Manager

Mrinal Todi is currently a junior at the Wharton School's undergraduate division, where he is completing his degree in Finance and Operations and Information Management. Prior to joining Wharton, Mrinal completed his schooling at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai and spent a year at New York University's Stern School of Business before transferring. During the past summer, he worked at A.T. Kearney’s Mumbai office on a project based in the Indian healthcare sector. In his spare time, Mrinal enjoys fiddling with gadgets of all kinds, playing squash, spending time on his Wii and DS and watching Lleyton Hewitt and Roger Federer play tennis.

Riech Viens

Logistics Manager

Riech has over six year experience with technological implementation in the Aerospace and Defense Industry. Prior to Wharton, he worked as an engineer for Raytheon and General Dynamics. Most recently, Riech was a Project Manager for BAE Systems responsible for the development of underground imaging tools for military applications. Riech came to Wharton to combine passion for technology and desire to make decisions that can impact the world. He hopes to pursue a career in Technology Product Manager for a consumer-based firm. When he is not traveling the world, Riech can often be found running trails and enjoying Philly's finest dives.

Steven Welch

Co-Chair, Sponsorship & Logistics

Steven is a second-year Wharton Lauder dual MBA/MA candidate, majoring in Marketing and International Studies. He recently completed his MBA internships at both Samsung Electronics America and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation in the Marketing and Business Development departments respectively. Prior to Wharton, Steven worked at KLA-Tencor Corporation, where he led international product marketing efforts for their newest generation semiconductor equipment products. Before KLA, Steven was an engineer in the Storage Systems Division at IBM. A chemistry alumnus of Harvey Mudd College, Steven also volunteers his time for the Hope School Foundation serving as the Vice President of Public Relations.

Michael Ye

Collaborative Software Panel

Prior to Wharton, Michael founded MagicMatchParty.com, an online/offline dating services company based in New York. He drove the overall strategic direction of the company, managing the company's sales, marketing, and competitive strategies. He is responsible for finding new franchise partners worldwide and maintaining existing franchise relationships. Additionally, he takes an active role in defining and designing new features for the worldwide network of MagicMatchParty.com web properties.

Michael has worked in the software industry since 1993, successfully completing projects of all sizes in industries ranging from finance and media to cosmetics and hospitality. In 1999, Michael co-founded CompareBay.com, one of the Internet's first comparison shopping engines that allowed consumers to compare prices across both online and offline retailers. He led the research and development of a proprietary dynamic data filtering and integration technology to normalize and unify similar information from a number of heterogeneous sources.

Michael is currently a MBA Candidate at The Wharton School and holds a Bachelor of Mathematics degree in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo.